Sea Inspired Bedroom Makeover

Create a Sea Inspired Bedroom with deep blue hues, coastal bedding, and warm wood and brass tones.

I’m so excited to share with you all Conor’s bedroom makeover today! If you remember, in the summer we decided to do our own trading spaces, so our boys could have their own rooms. Due to everything that’s going on – hybrid learning with three days of home school – we felt they both needed their own spaces and rooms. Conor and I have been hard at work on this space and had so much fun getting the room ready for a little photo shoot.

This room was originally Luke’s office. You can see the reveal of that space here and a few updates here.

Conor loves blue and Luke’s office had beautiful rich, velvety walls. We were going to leave the room that same shade but noticed some areas of fading. Benjamin Moore is discontinuing the Century line of paints in November so we decided to go with Hidden Sapphire (part of the Aura collection) in Matte. Conor was such a big help painting!

I was slightly worried when the wet paint looked a bit Crayola blue, but it all turned out beautifully.

Conor is 11 years old and absolutely loves the sea. He enjoys sailing at our local boat club and loves boogie boarding with friends in the summer at the beach. We wanted to celebrate his love for the sea in a grown up way. Conor also really loves antiques and vintage items. These pieces always make a room feel warmer and more cozy.

Come on into Conor’s room to see how we transformed the space from a English library into a coastal boy’s bedroom. I will include a full source list at the end of the post, too.

I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came.”

– John F. Kennedy

How to Create a Sea Inspired Bedroom

Rich Navy Walls

The deep blue paint makes our woodwork feel warmer and the whole space feel cozier. As I said above, the walls are painted in Hidden Sapphire. I went with matte because we have textured walls and I find the eggshell paint really accentuates that texture.

Sailboat Bedding

The sailboats, anchors, and starfish in his duvet and sham almost exactly match the wall color. The illustrations and linens have a very traditional and vintage feel to them. They feel very grown up for an older boy’s bedroom, as well.

I elevated his bedding by adding a faux fur throw, which we already owned, at the foot of the bed.

Coastal Decor Elements

Conor won this sailboat at a fundraiser for our friend Kjeld Mahoney. Isn’t it wonderful?

The gleaming white sails look gorgeous agains the navy walls.

He’s had his pirates and china cheetah since we was very little. You can see them in his first bedroom here. He used to play with them like they were little dolls.

I completed the little vignette with a vintage wooden pulley.

Add in Some Vintage Elements

We found the pine chest at Brimfield years ago and the mirror was mine growing up. They complement the wood trim in here so well.

The oriental rug is old and was my mother’s. It highlights the colors in the room.

My mom gave Conor this really cool vintage inspired light. It’s actually new. I think she got it at Marshall’s but it has a wonderful vintage / steampunk look. It looks gorgeous at night as the bulb has fairy lights inside.

Conor loves plants and here are two of his plants here. A lucky bamboo and a samurai dwarf snake plant.

The budgee is from Satuit Boat Club, where he takes sailing lessons in the summer.

Coastal Inspired Art

Conor didn’t want to hang loads up in his room. He wanted to hang the Minot Light image by Kjeld Mahoney, which used to be in his shared bedroom with John (above their desks). We decided to hang it above his desk, which is an old Stickley library table.

The task lighting is from Crate & Barrel. It used to be in his old room, too. It’s wonderful as a desk light.

I found the other piece of art on Friday and you may have seen it on Instagram or Facebook. It’s a hand carved whale and it looks perfect over his bed. The whale is made by a local artist.

Add Warm Brass Tones

Whenever I think of life on the sea, I think of aged brass. This beautiful pendant looks so warm against the blue walls.

While it isn’t antique, it gives the look of one and looks beautiful with our brass and crystal door knobs.

Add Earthy and Natural Elements

To ground the blues in his space we added textural and earthy elements. The woven roman shades are a near match to the woodwork.

The stump table doubles as a bedside table. There isn’t much room with the desk and chair so we went with a very small profile table.

I wanted to be careful with the light here, too, as his desk chair can move back into the table. The lamp is smaller and the base is wood.

The desk chair is chrome and vegan leather. It is absolutely fabulous and so comfortable. We found it online. I originally ordered this style for John and a different one for Conor, but Conor found this one more comfortable. So they boys have matching desk chairs.

The chair is so comfortable and I love the mix of warm brown vegan leather with chrome. It’s a chair they can have as they grow up and it will still look stylish in college and into their 20s.

I hope this has given you some ideas to create your own sea inspired bedroom. Let me know if you have any questions about the space or sources (which I’ll link below).

Here’s a little recap:

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Shop the Look

Source List

• Wall Color – Hidden Sapphire by Benjamin Moore in Matte
• Stickley Library Table, Pine Chest, Mirror, Oriental Rug – Vintage
• Nautical Bedding – Bed, Bath, and Beyond
• Faux Fur Blanket – World Market, similar here
• Brass Pendant Light – Amazon via Lamps Plus, similar here
• Metal Bed – Wayfair
• Industrial Light – Marshalls, similar here
• Industrial Wall Sconce – Crate & Barrel
• Ship – Sylivas, similar here
• Lighthouse Photograph – Kjeld Mahoney Photography
• Model – Ikea
• Plants – Ikea and Plantsandponytails
• Table Light – Target
• Stump Table – HomeGoods, similar here
• Desk Chair – Laura Davidson Direct
• Whale – hand carved by a local artist, found at B.Home Fine Consignments
• Woven Shades – Christmas Tree Shoppes